Published Thursday, June 25, 2015 | 3:34 p.m.
Updated Thursday, June 25, 2015 | 9:55 p.m.
The Kats Report Bureau is reeling from a visit to Tuscany’s T Spot lounge where I encountered for the first time the metal band Tinnitus fronted by Jeff Tortora of the Blue Man Group band. Tortora is known as a powerhouse percussionist — he slams the drums like they owe him money — but in this band he is the singer.
A singer who gyrates like a rhythmic gymnast dodging an onslaught of hornets.
The band rages, and those in Wednesday’s crowd included Pantera and Hellyeah founder Vinnie Paul. Vinnie left the hotel for a world tour with the latter band, out until September. It was a raging night, in the very same room where “The Rat Pack Is Back” returns to the stage on July 6.
T Spot is nothing if not versatile. Aside from myself, the bar staff and hotel co-owner Brett Heers, I believe that there is no crossover audience for Tinnitus and “Rat Pack.” Which is why T Spot is a magical place.
Onward:
• In a move sure to send ripples across the Las Vegas entertainment scene, Red Mercury Entertainment has taken over the booking and ticketing of Westgate Cabaret and the newly renamed International Showroom. That move was made at the beginning of June, when Paragon Gaming formally signed on to run the casino and at the time that Rick White, the popular longtime entertainment director at Las Vegas Hilton and LVH, stepped down.
Among its productions, Red Mercury produces “MJ Live” at Stratosphere and is in a partnership with producer Dick Feeney in “The Rat Pack Is Back.”
The Red Mercury relationship with Paragon is unrelated to the Westgate deal with Elvis Presley Enterprises and Graceland Holdings, which operates “Graceland Presents Elvis: The Exhibition, The Show, The Experience” at the hotel.
As Westgate exec Mark Waltrip noted in an email today, “(Elvis Presley Enterprises) has an agreement with us to perform a set number of shows per year in the large theater. Red Mercury was hired by our new management company, Paragon, to replace our existing entertainment management team and box office operations.”
The first, and thus far only, show to appear at Westgate in the hotel’s agreement with Elvis Presley Enterprises has been “Elvis The Experience,” which closed this month (as planned). Nothing has been announced in its place.
Outside that business relationship, Red Mercury is charged with programming the International Showroom and Westgate Cabaret. Led by former AEG Live and Caesars exec Carlos Reynoso and Beauty Bar and El Dorado Cantina owner Darin Feinstein, Red Mercury and Paragon were most recently operating out of the Riviera. The company had backed Dirk Arthur’s “Wild Illusions” at the Riv and had plans to stage “MJ” and “Rat Pack” inside Versailles Theater before the hotel was sold to the LVCVA and closed May 4.
Red Mercury had dumped well more than $100,000 in upgrades to the Versailles, but in show business that happened ages ago. Look for more news out of that operation in July.
• On the topic of Westgate, “Suzanne Sizzles” is taking an extended, and scheduled, leave from Westgate Cabaret after Saturday’s performance. The nightclub show starring Suzanne Somers is to return Sept. 15, with tickets on sale through next spring. While she is away, “Sexxy” is moving to the 10 p.m. time slot, 30 minutes earlier than the show’s usual start time.
• It seems Ricky Moreno will need to win the fan vote to advance to the finals of “Travel Channel Star” on the Travel Channel. Among the five finalists in the national competition, Moreno and Blake Jeffers of Savannah, Ga., are easily the frontrunners, swapping the lead position since voting opened Monday morning. The two have consistently been in the 35 to 40 percent range, topping the field as the vote nears its conclusion Friday night.
Janel Koloski of Greensburg, Pa., Christine Rojo of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Saundra Dunson-Franks of Atlanta are far back with less than 10 percent of the vote apiece. The Top Two advance to the finals of the competition.
The problem for Moreno is that the three-person panel uniformly panned his video at Sandy Valley Ranch. His best/worst moment was slamming into the ranch’s metal fence and falling from the horse, which did look genuinely dangerous. But his shtick with the staff at Sandy Valley, where he joked that throwing a hatchet at a wooden plank was “stupid,” did not play well.
“When the going gets rough, Ricky turns into an A-hole,” is how judge Rob Pralgo, a Travel Channel host, reviewed Moreno’s clip. He also called Moreno’s video “a train wreck.”
It’s an unfair depiction, as Moreno happens to be a fun-loving guy who is apt to hack it up at all times. The management of Sandy Valley Ranch has since sent him an email saying how much they enjoyed filming with him on the property.
Moreno is given due credit for writing, with brothers Frankie and Tony, the song “Life of a Cowboy.” The tune was composed for the show during an overnight session a couple of weeks ago.
Moreno’s fate is now left to the nationwide vote (click on TravelChannel.com to vote in the contest), which ends at 9 p.m. Friday. It’s not expressed how much weight the judges’ opinions carry versus the fan vote, but it would be very difficult to explain how the contestant who topped the national vote does not advance. And Moreno is in position to win the vote.
• Mark Shunock is working on a show all about … Mark Shunock. The star of “Rock of Ages” at the Venetian who pilfers scene after scene as the mullet-ed Lonnie, is in talks to bring a stylish one-man show to Sands Showroom. It would be a one-night-only production, something that could be performed in one-offs across the country or as a residency someday. Look for a fall performance if this all works out.
• Hearing that a group of Broadway investors, impressive for its volume and influence, are to hit “Frank: The Man, The Music” tonight. Bob Anderson’s vision for the show is to present it in a Broadway theater and/or tour it across the country.
The new signage for the show expressly states “a theatrical production” right above the production’s title and the image of Anderson as Sinatra. The show’s extension through December has been encouraging to those who support the best live entertainment on the Strip, and the added dates have given Anderson a chance to showcase the production for a life after Las Vegas.
In the spirit of Venice, The Venetian is a little piece of romantic Italy right here in Las Vegas. The Venetian is an "all-suite" hotel, with rooms accented with plush linens and Italian marble. The 4,027 suites are divided into two towers: The 36-story Venetian Tower that offers guests a taste of luxurious Las Vegas and the Venezia suites, which guarantee 12 floors of high-end elegance. The top five floors are the hotel's highest level of luxury with its private access, concierge lounge, upgraded features and even a dedicated staff.
Entertainment at the Venetian includes shows such as Tim and Faith - Soul2Soul, featuring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and Rock of Ages.
The flagship of Venetian nightlife is TAO, an ultra-hip nightclub located inside of TAO Asian Bistro. V Bar is The Venetian's super smooth ultra lounge, made by the owners of New York City's club Lotus and Los Angeles' super swank Sunset Room.
The Venetian features 19 restaurants including Thomas Keller's award-winning French restaurant Bouchon, Mario Batali's B&B Ristorante, Aquaknox for fresh seafood and the 42,000 square foot TAO Asian Bistro. There's also the food court inside the Canal Shoppes for those looking for a quick bite.
Guests can float along The Grand Canal Shops in an authentic Italian gondola ride and pass stores like Burberry and Kenneth Cole along the way. And if you haven't caught a real celeb, on the street in Vegas, you can head over to Madame Tussauds to check out a wax version.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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